Bringing old processes online saves time and money!
Founded in 1764, The Hartford Courant is the oldest continuously
published newspaper in the United States. The paper handles a high
volume of classifi ed ads that go into print and online. Since Colonial
times, employees have used word of mouth and paper to communicate
between the sales and production departments. But as the paper
system entered the 21st century, it began to break down under increasing sales
volume and a greater range of consumer offerings. Sales reps spent the whole
day running back and forth between their desks and the production department.
Ads and changes to ads were scribbled on sticky notes and handed off, ostensibly
to someone who wouldn’t lose them.
The classifi ed department recently turned to Intuit’s online database offering,
QuickBase, to streamline the process and introduce accountability. “With the
old system, things would get lost all the time. Now we can place and correct ads
speedily, sometimes while the customer is still on the phone,” says online support
manager Polly Edwards. One project involving real-estate listings used to take
16 or more hours a week. Now customers can input ad information themselves
through a form on the Courant’s Web site. The data is ported automatically to a
QuickBase database, which generates proofs for customers to approve. The ads
are also imported into Adobe InDesign and laid out automatically. “We de signed
this to save us time, and it turns out that the customers love it,” says Edwards.
HOW YOU CAN DO IT, TOO
SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SAAS) IS THE TERM DU JOUR FOR
application service providers (ASPs) and online applications.
Many small businesses (and departments in larger businesses)
are turning to SaaS to implement new software initiatives.
Advantages include not having to purchase, install, and maintain
software or the server it would run on. It’s a very attractive
proposition for small-business owners.
SaaS opens the world of enterprise applications to small
businesses. What 10-person (or even 100-person) shop has
the resources to implement and maintain an ERP application—
on its own servers?
SaaS typically helps businesses save time and money. Providers
have massive infrastructures with all sorts of redundancies
built in to prevent failure. Another benefi t is disaster
recovery. Events that force your offi ce to close typically don’t
affect your SaaS provider; you can simply connect to the
Internet and run the app from somewhere else. When evaluating
SaaS solutions, keep the following tips in mind
UNDERSTAND TECH-SUPPORT POLICIES. Is your shop 24/7?
Will the provider be there for your users 24/7? Can your staff
get through to a knowledgeable support person quickly? What
sort of turnaround time is guaranteed for issues?
ASK FOR A TEST DRIVE. It should be easy as pie for a provider
to give you a 30-day trial; after all, quick rollout is supposed
to be a selling point for SaaS. During this time, make
sure that the solution does what you need and verify that its
availability and performance are what you expect.
EVALUATE CUSTOMIZATION CAPABILITIES. Can you modify
data structures and add custom fi elds to accommodate data
already stored in a local database? Can you assign policies
by user or group? Are there customizable workfl ow features
such as automatic notifi cation when approval is needed?
FIND OUT WHAT SORTS OF API ARE AVAILABLE. To tie this
application in with the rest of your company’s data, you’ll need
a well-documented API. Ask about Web Services standards
—give extra consideration to services whose APIs comply.
CONSIDER THE PROVIDER’S CUSTOMER BASE. Are other
small businesses among the clientele? The last thing you want
is to settle on a provider only to have it go belly-up, or, possibly
worse, start cutting corners because of fi nancial pressure.
FIND OUT THE PROVIDER’S RETURN POLICY. Should you
later decide to take the function in-house or to a rival ASP,
how will you get your data back? Also ask what formats that
data can be exported to. You don’t want years’ worth of transactions
locked up inextricably with a provider—or in its app’s
proprietary data format.
*__ BY MATTHEW D. SARREL
